In 1914 Burbank entered its first float into the 25th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. Built by the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, the float was called "Goddess of Plenty" and featured an ornate dragon’s head, a large cornucopia overflowing with homegrown sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squash and assorted vegetables.

I found an interesting article about how the first float rider was picked. A secret ballot was cast to pick a rider. Two ladies, Miss Ludlow and Miss Brotman, tied at 365 votes each for the honor and it was decided that those two candidates themselves would pick the winner. Their solution: to choose someone who had not been in the running. They elected Miss Stella Hansen, a high school teacher, to portray the mythical goddess Ops.

The float won a Special Prize 2nd Place Silver Cup and was presented to the Chamber by the Los Angeles Tribune. The City’s Board of Trustees was so impressed with the win that they asked the Chamber to "prepare a special case to contain the cup… and that inasmuch as the Trophy belongs to the people of the City of Burbank and not to any one individual body or organization, that the trophy should be placed on exhibition in the City Hall." I haven’t been about to verify that this was ever done but, through time, the Silver Cup was lost. Then around April of 1958 the cup was uncovered in a storeroom at the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. The Silver Cup is now on display at the Burbank Historical Society/Gordon R. Howard Museum.

Interesting side note. The Burbank Chamber of Commerce redecorated the same float and renamed it "Dragon Cornucopia" for the 1915 parade.